My Wheel steering tends to shake especially at the higher RPM setting while motoring. At 1500 there is relatively no shake or viberation of the wheel. At 2000 to 2500 there is a modest shake and a turning tendency, and I am assuming that it is coming from turbulance off the the prop. I recently adjusted - tightened my steering and there seems to be no help. While under sail the wheel is very steady. Just wondering if the rest of you Catalina 30 owners experienced the same tendency. Also, was wondering if the Catalina 34 had the same feeling.
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Never noticed it with mine.
My 85 C30 seems to be ok, when it is on the cradle during winter I wiggle the rudder to see if it is still tight. Captain Woody from Lats & Ats had to replace his rudder post on a Cal 33 in the middle of nowhere. Check it out. Dean
My 85 C30 seems to be ok, when it is on the cradle during winter I wiggle the rudder to see if it is still tight. Captain Woody from Lats & Ats had to replace his rudder post on a Cal 33 in the middle of nowhere. Check it out. Dean
propshaft alignment
I assume you are relatively new to your boat and these symptoms didn't suddenly pop up after many years of trouble-free sailing. If you don't experience any problems with your steering wheel under sail, then you don't have a steering wheel or rudder problem. The strong pull to port at 2000 rpm and higher is your propwalk - this is normal, and its best you experience with it to use it to your advantage when manoeuvring, otherwise you might get nasty surprises. It will also happen when reversing. The Catalina 30 has a very strong propwalk, especially if you have the 3 bladed fixed prop. The shaking feeling sounds to me like an incorrect alignment of the propshaft. I have had a similar experience two years ago and my mechanic fixed it in no time. The manual explains how to do it yourself, but if you have, like me, limited technical experience, it may be wise to have someone assist you the first time. If the alignment is correct (you don't need to take the boat out of the water to fix that) and the problem persists, then you may have a worn cutlass bearing. To replace that you'll need to put the boat on the dry. Hope this helps.
I assume you are relatively new to your boat and these symptoms didn't suddenly pop up after many years of trouble-free sailing. If you don't experience any problems with your steering wheel under sail, then you don't have a steering wheel or rudder problem. The strong pull to port at 2000 rpm and higher is your propwalk - this is normal, and its best you experience with it to use it to your advantage when manoeuvring, otherwise you might get nasty surprises. It will also happen when reversing. The Catalina 30 has a very strong propwalk, especially if you have the 3 bladed fixed prop. The shaking feeling sounds to me like an incorrect alignment of the propshaft. I have had a similar experience two years ago and my mechanic fixed it in no time. The manual explains how to do it yourself, but if you have, like me, limited technical experience, it may be wise to have someone assist you the first time. If the alignment is correct (you don't need to take the boat out of the water to fix that) and the problem persists, then you may have a worn cutlass bearing. To replace that you'll need to put the boat on the dry. Hope this helps.
Shake
How did you tighten your steering? My Catilina 30TR will move at the rudder post if we are moored where wind and water push the boat around. The only vibration I felt was when there was vegetation wrapped on the prop or we were nearing 7 knots pointing into the wind.
How did you tighten your steering? My Catilina 30TR will move at the rudder post if we are moored where wind and water push the boat around. The only vibration I felt was when there was vegetation wrapped on the prop or we were nearing 7 knots pointing into the wind.
Tighten Steering
Just aft of the benicle is a cover. remove the cover and you will see the bell crank on top of the rudder post. There are 2 sets of nuts, one to lock and the other to tighten the steering.
Just aft of the benicle is a cover. remove the cover and you will see the bell crank on top of the rudder post. There are 2 sets of nuts, one to lock and the other to tighten the steering.
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